BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT

BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT

MISSION The mission of the Birmingham Public Library is to provide the highest quality experience to our community for lifelong learning, cultural enrichment, and enjoyment. VISION The Birmingham Public Library will play a vital role in the city by recognizing the potential of our community and transforming lives through community, education, and technology. CORE VALUES The Birmingham Public Library is committed to: Service Employees Leadership Learning Innovation Respect Diversity Integrity EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Executive Summary As the largest library system in the state of Alabama, the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) continues to "preserve the past and explore the future ENTERPRISE with the public MANAGEMENT service delivery, SERVICES community programs, and the provision of books, digital resources, relevant reference, and archival access. After 130 years of historic service, BPL continues to transition and transform to 21 st century digital services, programs, and partnerships that meet the needs of everyday people in the city of Birmingham. As an active member of the Jefferson County Library Cooperative for 39 years, BPL concurrently represents American public libraries in company with cities such as Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans, Louisiana; Atlanta, Georgia; and Jacksonville, Florida. In 2017, the Birmingham Public Library continued to shine as a profound beacon in the Southeastern United States with direct community impact in all 99 neighborhoods and 23 communities in the city of Birmingham. Impactful library service to a population of approximately 212,000 residents via 19 library locations resulted in services, programs, partnerships, and community engagement strategically focused on education, technology, and community. During the FY 2016/2017 fiscal year, more than 1.5 million library patrons visited the library, more than 70 The successful service delivery and progression at BPL is consistent with active library board leadership, a talented library staff, an impactful new strategic plan, the hiring of a new chief financial officer, and a national executive search which led to the hiring of new executive director, Floyd Council. In my capacity as executive director of the Birmingham Public Library, the purpose for this annual report is to render to the library board a report of the operations of the library system for the preceding twelve months, consistent with the Birmingham Public Library Board bylaws. Floyd Council Executive Director Mayor Randall Woodfin and Executive Director Floyd Council Birmingham Public Library : Annual Report Fiscal Year 2016-2017 2

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Thousands BUDGET FY16-17 LOCATIONS Avondale Central East Ensley East Lake Eastwood Ensley Five Points West Inglenook North Avondale North Birmingham Powderly Pratt City Smithfield Southside Springville Road Titusville West End Woodlawn Wylam Service Area: City of Birmingham Population: 212K Neighborhoods: 99 Communities: 23 Library Locations: 19 Funding: City of Birmingham Governance: Public Library Board Cash Receipts Unaudited Birmingham Library Fund 6/30/17 Unaudited City of Birmingham Library Fund 6/30/17 Local $255,787 $14,573,525 Federal/State $295,620 Grants $104,201 Benefactor $68,575 Total Receipts $724,184 $14,573,525 Cash Disbursements Personnel $12,295,784 Public Service $151,211 $16,678 Business Operations $500,817 $2,261,063 Total Disbursements $652,027 $14,573,525 $16,000 $14,000 $12,000 $10,000 $8,000 $6,000 $4,000 $2,000 $- LIBRARY FUND TOTAL RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS $724 $652 FY 2017 Unaudited Library Fund 30-Jun-17 $14,574 $14,574 FY 2017 Unaudited City of Birmingham Library Fund 30-Jun- 17 Receipts Disbursements

BPL STAFF BPL Staff Profile: 2016 Staff Day Held at the Southern Museum of Flight, staff were assigned to sit with fellow co-workers they normally would not see on a regular basis. Staff participated in a question and answer series on the library s Strategic Plan 2017-2021. What was your favorite part of Staff Day? Getting the opportunity to sit with people I did not know and learn about them and the jobs they do. I enjoyed the guest speakers. If employees were listening/engaged to the message of the speakers, they were given an opportunity to self correct actions and attitudes. 2016 Inventory Day Each location was responsible for working on projects to clear out old equipment, straighten shelves, inventory books, or discard old items. simplifying IT

Public Service Performance: FY 2016-2017 Performance Areas Performance Strategic Impact Hours Open to Public 44,176 C,E,T Visitors to the Libraries 1,506,908 C,E Meeting Room Bookings 2,488 C Library Card Accounts 151,039 C,E,T New Library Cards 1,156 C,E,T BPL Website Visits 709,971 C,E,T BPL Collection Size 728,388 C,E, Print Checked Out 751,328 C,E, Digital Checked Out 58,019 C,E,T Total Checked Out 857,881 C,E, Holds Placed 80,398 C,E, Holds Filled 133,253 C,E, Public Computers 282 C,E, Wireless Sessions 585,095 C,E,T Reference Questions 412,360 C,E, Public Programs 2,837 C,E, Program Attendance 58,485 C,E, Summer Reading 5649 C,E,T Registrations Volunteer Hours 7582 C,E,T C=Community E=Education T=Technology simplifying

System-Wide: Library Visits & Ranking Rank Region Location Visits Adjusted Visits* 1 Central Region Central/Henley 310,585 376,435 2 Southern Region Avondale 163,521 168,693 3 Eastern Region Springville Road 136,894 137,843 4 Western Region Five Points West 114,246 114,246 5 Southern Region Southside 96,670 96,670 6 Eastern Region East Lake 70,896 70,896 7 Northern Region Pratt City 63,856 63,856 8 Western Region West End 51,115 51,115 9 Southern Region Eastwood 49,484 49,484 10 Southern Region Titusville 48,534 48,534 11 Northern Region North Birmingham 48,450 48,450 12 Western Region Smithfield 44,118 44,118 13 Northern Region Ensley 36,590 38,661 14 Eastern Region Woodlawn 38,316 38,316 15 Western Region Wylam 34,847 34,847 16 Southern Region North Avondale 34,400 34,400 17 Western Region Powderly 28,270 27,370 18 Northern Region East Ensley 27,253 27,253 19 Eastern Region Inglenook 24,543 24,543 Total Visits 1,422,588 1,495,730 * Values are estimated and adjusted when gate counters are temporarily out of commission simplifying IT

System-wide: Circulation & Ranking Rank Region Location Adult Teens Children Circulation 1 Central Region Central/Henley 587,676 17,641 19,4545 173,310 2 Eastern Region Springville Road 79,101 2,528 30,339 111,968 3 Southern Region Avondale 52,379 2,395 37,671 92,445 4 Western Region Five Points West 37,930 881 18,178 56,989 5 Southern Region Southside 37,102 896 12,737 50,635 6 Southern Region Eastwood 22,042 289 4,055 26,386 7 Northern Region North Birmingham 17,567 258 6,592 24,417 8 Eastern Region East Lake 18,006 180 4,610 22,796 9 Western Region Powderly 16,564 550 5,398 22,512 10 Eastern Region Woodlawn 17,314 225 3,093 20,632 11 Southern Region Titusville 14,040 1,137 3,044 18,221 12 Western Region Smithfield 10,572 322 6,634 17,528 13 Western Region West End 12,718 786 2,750 16,254 14 Northern Region Pratt City 11,434 165 4,202 15,801 15 Southern Region North Avondale 10,767 217 4,681 15,665 16 Eastern Region Inglenook 7,319 293 7,886 15,498 17 Northern Region East Ensley 9,788 295 4,798 14,881 18 Northern Region Ensley 9,934 240 3,802 13,976 19 Western Region Wylam 8,628 107 2,078 10,813 simplifying IT

Staff PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Eat Drink Read Write 2016 The Eat Drink Read Write festival, October 1-7, 2016, was a week-long culinary and literary adventure that featured James Beard Foundation award-winning chef, author, and food-justice activist Bryant Terry. Participants also sampled fermented and foraged fare, sipped literary cocktails, shared cuisine-inspired spoken word performances and enjoyed a children's art contest. Summer Reading The goal of 2016 library Summer Reading was to encourage children to read for pleasure. The library offered special events and incentives to encourage children of all ages, from infants to teens, to read what they enjoy, and to read often. Parents, grandparents, and other caregivers were also invited to participate and to help pre-readers enjoy books and develop a love of reading. Bards & Brews Bards & Brews offered the Birmingham community local craft beer, creative poetry, and original music. For the sixth year, this popular program provided a platform for aspiring artists to showcase their talents through open mic nights and poetry slams. 9

PARTNERSHIP Staff HIGHLIGHTS Teen Engineers BHM The Central Library Youth Department has created a partnership with the University of Alabama at Birmingham s School of Engineering called Teen Engineers BHM, which provides UAB engineering students who mentor elementary and high school students about new technologies, such as robotics and computer programing. Sweet Home: Alabama s History in Maps In March 2017, Birmingham Public Library began its celebration of Alabama's bicentennial with the exhibit Sweet Home: Alabama's History in Maps. The 54 maps from BPL's world-class cartography collection tell the story of Alabama over 450 years of exploration, expansion, and development. Jay Lamar, head of the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, called Sweet Home: Alabama's History in Maps, "one of the most exciting, beautiful, and stimulating exhibitions I have ever seen. People will discover things about Alabama that they never knew or imagined by experiencing these lovely, remarkable maps." The exhibit, funded in part by Alabama Humanities Foundation, will travel around the state during the three-year bicentennial commemoration. Birmingham Public Library Board Awards 24 INNOVATIVE AND COOL AWARDS The Birmingham Public Library Board established this award to assist library staff by sponsoring an innovative or "cool" program. The board awards each library up to two $50 awards per year to help improve an existing program or to develop a new innovative or "cool" program for patrons. Twenty-four unique programs were awarded with the Innovative and Cool Awards in FY 2016-17. 8 I AM BPL AWARDS The I Am BPL Award is a quarterly stipend in the form of a $25 gift presented directly to a BPL staff member who, through their work and commitment to the BPL mission, suggests an idea for (1) a cost-saving measure, (2) improving work efficiency, (3) improving work environment, or (4) that expands/improves the value of services of BPL. Eight staff members who submitted or were nominated received an I Am BPL Award in FY 2016-17. 10

Staff COMMUNITY LIBRARY HIGHLIGHTS Central Avondale Avondale Regional Branch Library s Ukulele 101 workshops provided free lessons for patrons on how to play the ukulele. The library has offered free checkout of ukuleles for patrons since receiving a donation of the instruments in 2015. Civil Rights Through the Eyes of a Young Poet In June 2017, the Central Library s Create205 Learning Lab and BPL Archives Department partnered with John Paul Taylor of Real Life Poets, Inc. to offer a summer camp in which teens heard speakers share real-life stories of life in Birmingham during the civil rights movement and then wrote and performed spoken word poems to express modernday views of the civil rights movement. East Ensley On Fridays, East Ensley Branch Library s FreePlay program offered STEM-based learning and play activities using KEVA planks, Legos, and Picasso tiles to supplement school learning in the fields of math and science. East Lake On Tuesdays beginning in early 2017, East Lake Branch Library s Tech Tuesday program taught patrons basic Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and how to create email accounts and apply for jobs online. East Lake Library also offered free weekly chess lessons for youth taught by a longtime supporter. Eastwood Eastwood Branch Library s 10 public computers provided internet services for patrons who cannot afford home access or do not have the skills to use computers. 11

Ensley Ensley Branch Library s Science Club, an after-school program for kids taught by Winfield and Elinor Burks, met on Mondays in 2016-17. Students learned how to charge a lightbulb, the inner workings of gadgets, and other scientific experiments. Five Points West Senior citizens gathered weekly during 2016-17 for Five Points West Regional Branch Library s Active Living, a program that offered weekly activities including dance classes, crafts, and books. Inglenook An Expression of Appreciation for the Women of the Inglenook Community This bi-monthly program at Inglenook Branch Library, a recipient of a BPL Board of Trustees Innovative and Cool Award, began in May 2017 to provide women in the community with programs that empower them and uplift the community. The library also partnered with Dr. Adrienne Starks, CEO of STREAM Innovation, and in June 2017 hosted a summer coding boot camp to help students develop and explore their passion for Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STREAM). North Avondale North Avondale Branch Library hosted Cowboy, Boots, and Books, in which cowboys talked to 4 th graders from Hayes K-8 School about life as a cowboy, and AWESOME On Purpose, a program in which women mentors helped teen girls from Hayes K-8 school boost their self-esteem. The Cowboys, Boots and Books program was funded by the BPL Library Board s Innovation and Cool Awards program. North Birmingham Zoobrary at the North Birmingham Regional Branch Library introduced patrons to its zoo creatures. 12

Powderly Powderly Branch Library hosted its Annual Southwest Community Black History Month concert featuring the Wenonah High School Choir in February 2017. The library also hosted a popular weekly Adult Line Dance class. Pratt City Pratt City Branch Library hosted weekly Chair Aerobics classes for seniors, especially residents of the Dugan Avenue Senior Apartments community center the library partners with to promote library programs and resources. Smithfield Smithfield Branch Library hosted ACT Prep and Power Hour. Power Hour was a one-hour tutoring session for elementary and middle school patrons. ACT Prep was a program throughout the year to help high school students improve their ACT skills through Learning Express Library, BPL s free database. Southside Southside hosted From Page to Stage A Reader s Theater Workshop for Children in partnership with the Junior League of Birmingham, Birmingham Children s Theatre, and BPL. During 2017, the library also hosted Ramsay High School students who participated in Teens Engineer BHM, a partnership between BPL and UAB s School of Engineering. Springville Road Coffee, Conversation, and Crafts, Springville Road Regional Branch Library s weekly adult crafting program, attracts dozens of senior patrons who gather to do crafts such as crocheting and other activities. 13

Titusville A crochet class met every Thursday in fiscal 2016-17 at the Titusville Branch Library, allowing patrons of all ages to get to know each other while crafting. West End Filmmaking Workshop for Teens at West End Branch Library - Denzale Butler, a young African American filmmaker, led a four-week workshop teaching teenagers the ins and outs of making a film using a cell phone. Woodlawn Woodlawn Branch Library partnered in with Impact Alabama s SaveFirst program, offering free tax services for low-income families. Wylam The Summer Push program was a collaborative effort between Faith Chapel Church, Wylam Elementary School, and Wylam Branch Library offered in June and July 2017. Constance Blaylock, a second grade teacher at Wylam Elementary School, met with the students every Tuesday in the months of June and July teaching mini-lessons on reading skills. 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203 www.bplonline.org 14